Historical Archives of the Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Consortium

On July 27, 1934 in the Rocca di Soragna (Parma), the deed of incorporation of the first “Consorzio Interprovinciale Grana Tipico” was signed by 28 founders among producers from the different provinces of origin. The goal from the beginning is to protect the product, the first objective still today, thanks to the branding of the wheels to distinguish the production and provide for the defense of the name “Reggiano” and “Parmigiano” from other hard cheeses.

In addition to distinguishing and protecting production, the Consortium's goal is the promotion of Parmigiano Reggiano. Testimony to this effort is the Consortium's participation in 1939 in the New York World's Fair in the pavilion dedicated to Italian excellence. Today about 350,000 wheels are exported to the U.S., a market that contends annually with France for the title of leading importer.

In 1951, on June 1 in Stresa, on Lake Maggiore, dairy technicians and operators signed a “Convention” in which they set precise rules for recognizing the names of cheeses produced in the various countries agreed upon, with indications of their basic characteristics. The Consortium plays a key role in that assembly in bringing the concept of “geographical indication” to life, thanks to the interventions of a young producer and politician from Parma, lawyer Giampaolo Mora.

The year 1954 is a turning point: in application of the Controlled Denominations Law-following the 1951 Stresa Convention-the first Consortium takes the definitive name “Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Consortium.” In addition, the Consortium defines the first production standard, from which the current specification will evolve, which contains all the distinctive elements of Parmigiano Reggiano and its naturalness.

Upon the approval of the national law on Controlled Denominations and the subsequent establishment of the “Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Consortium,” 2,102 Parmigiano Reggiano producing dairies became members of the Consortium in 1954-55.

After World War II, with the economic and political reconstruction of the country, conditions are created for a greater and full exchange of products among all Italian regions. Advertising and “propaganda” activities become continuous and systematic, through traditional channels (press and radio) and innovative ones, such as television, for which the first documentary aimed at consumers was made in 1954.

In 1964, the Consortium implemented one of its most important measures: the origin marking on the entire side of the wheel with the dotted inscription “Parmigiano Reggiano,” the serial number of the dairy and the month and year of production; a marking that gives the cheese its current exterior appearance. Marking of origin and selection mark, with the beating of every single wheel produced, are the cornerstones for giving guarantees of authenticity to market operators and the final consumer.

In the history of Parmigiano Reggiano advertising, this commercial aired from 1969 to 1972 boasts two firsts: it uses for the first time the cute and catchy language of cartoons, designed by Paul Campani, and it is the first commercial to be set as a series.

In modern society, the “service” component is increasingly incorporated and has a growing weight in food goods. Since 1991, regulations have allowed Parmigiano Reggiano to be grated to make it available in convenient-to-use, brand-identified packages produced by plants mandatorily located in the area of origin to encourage control early in production.

In July 1992, EEC Regulation 2081/1992 on PDOs - Protected Designations of Origin (later supplemented by EEC Regulation 510/2006) is approved. In June 1996 Parmigiano Reggiano is recognized as a European PDO. The journey that began in Stresa in 1951 thus sees a milestone in the recognition of Geographical Indications as products that are an expression of their territory of origin.

The commercial programmed from 2001 to 2006 represented a step change in the advertising communication of Parmigiano Reggiano, both for taking up the narrative with a series of ironic stories and for highlighting the distinctiveness and uniqueness related to the territory and the production specification.

The misleading use of the term “parmesan,” especially by the food industry in Germany, provokes an initiative by the Consortium, which is followed by action by the European Commission. In February 2008, the European Court of Justice's Judgment on the name “parmesan” is published, a resounding success that not only sanctions a ban on the use of the term “parmesan” for cheeses other than authentic Parmigiano Reggiano, but more importantly extends protection to all PDO “evocations” that can only be used for authentic original products.

In 2012, following the approval of the amendment to the specification proposed by the Consortium, the packaging of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese wheel parts is compulsorily brought to the area of origin. This change is an icon of the importance of having to manage the production specification over time.

In May 2012, a violent earthquake causes the scaffolding of the maturing warehouses to collapse, with more than 600,000 cheeses falling, most of them damaged. A solidarity race begins, involving citizens and dairies. The Parmigiano Reggiano system overcomes the enormous hardship suffered and the producers prove to be a community ready to intervene in times of need with concrete solidarity initiatives. From the following year, the Caseifici Aperti (Open Dairy Factories) initiative starts, to thank the consuming citizens for the solidarity shown.

On May 26, 2014, the Decree of the Minister of Agriculture approving the Supply Regulation Plan was signed. Since then, milk producers for Parmigiano Reggiano have been inextricably linked to the supply chain through an exclusive production title: the Parmigiano Reggiano Milk Quotas. Unique in Europe, farmers in the Parmigiano Reggiano supply chain have a real identity card that binds them to the PDO.

In 2017, the Consortium's entire visual identity system was updated: brand name, brand architecture, color scheme, proprietary typeface, seasoning stamps, pattern, stylistically customized nutritional claims, and, for the first time in its history, specific brand graphics on packaging.

Today, the Consortium System, thanks to the work of more than 150 people and the contributions paid by producers, ensures and provides services for the Parmigiano Reggiano PDO aimed mainly at the nearly 300 dairies and the 2,300 dairy farms. It follows the technical evolution of milk and cheese production, examines with its expert beaters all the 4 million wheels produced, carries out thousands of inspections and samples for supervision in world sales markets, and develops promotion, popularization and marketing actions in more than 50 countries around the world.